Sounders FC players fear a lockout in February

Six weeks remain until the collective bargaining agreement between Major League Soccer and its players union expires. But neither side is budging, say Sounders FC union representatives, and negotiations to create a new CBA are getting more heated as the Jan. 31, deadline approaches.

"It'll probably go down to the wire," Seattle defender James Riley said this week. Riley and defender Taylor Graham are Sounders FC's union reps, and international soccer veterans Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg have served advisory roles in the process.

The Sounders not only have an equal say in the proceedings, they have additional sway as the most successful club in MLS after just one season of existence. But that might not help avoid a work stoppage, which could begin Feb. 1, one week after the team is scheduled to open training camp.

A work stoppage could delay the start of the regular-season and cost the league TV and stadium revenue while cutting into players' salaries.

Riley said Keller told him there could be a lockout that lasts two to four weeks. Keller is former player representative for the U.S. men's national team when it negotiated team and player bonuses and he saw similar situations while playing in Europe.

"In my mind I truly can't see how MLS hierarchy would let this come down to that," Keller said. "It's not like we've asked for quadruple the salary cap in the economic situation the country is in."

MLS president Mark Abbott is among those representing the league in CBA talks. He said he has been meeting with the player reps for several months and that negotiations and bargaining sessions continue, but wouldn't go into detail regarding the league's position.

Abbott did say that a work stoppage would not be debilitating to the league and that there is "sufficient time" to reach an agreement.

Riley outlined what the union seeks in the negotiations. He said there has been a union proposal followed by a league counter proposal that addressed economic issues but not player rights, which is the main sticking point for players.

"We took that as a slap in the face," Riley said.

A pay increase isn't the issue. Riley said the union seeks club autonomy, which would allow teams — not just the league — to negotiate player contracts, plus guaranteed contracts and free agency after contracts expire.

"The value of what a player does in the community is not taken into account," Riley said. "The team can play good cop, bad cop because they can say they want to [offer a guaranteed contract] but the league won't let them.

"It's absolutely absurd that a guy can finish out his four-year contract, but he has to stay in MLS. His rights are still owned by a team, but his contract's expired. Teams have to compensate another team even after the original team waives a player."

The union would also like the league to open up its books to determine what it sees as a fair increase in the salary cap from year to year. Without complete knowledge of how much is in the coffers of MLS, the union came up with a 17 percent increase from $2.3 million last season to about $2.7 million in 2010.

Keller would like MLS to be on equal footing with other pro leagues around the world, and for MLS to uses FIFA guidelines when it comes to player rights. FIFA is the world's soccer governing body. He said MLS claims it abides by FIFA rules but that MLS players must sign a waiver denouncing those same rights.

"It's something that would barely cost the league any money," Keller said. "I believe that Seattle should be the 800-pound gorilla in any meeting. We're the ones doing it the right way."

Abbott, who wrote the original MLS business plan, said MLS is FIFA-compliant and that FIFA acknowledges that by staying out of the fight.

"The league has grown," he said, "and we attribute that growth to the stable financial structure we put in place. Without that we would not have a league today."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com